gilligan1965 This has to be the best movie franchise documentary I've seen in many years.When I rented this DVD from the library yesterday, I thought it was only about the making of 'THE ORIGINAL' 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie...but, it's much, much more than that.This brings you through the ORIGINAL 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie, but, also through the entire "Planet of the Apes" movie trilogy -1. "Planet of the Apes" (1968);2. "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1970);3. "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" (1971);4. "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: (1972);and,5. "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973);The documentary also focuses on the live-action television series -"Planet of the Apes" (1974);and, the animated television series -"Return to the Planet of the Apes" (1975)...as well as the merchandising of the toys and accessories children my age once had but later sold for pennies in a 1980-1990 tag sale and is now worth a small fortune on eBay!?!?If "Star Trek" fans are called 'Trekkies,' it's only fair that "Planet of the Apes" fans are called 'Apeies!?!?' I suppose I'm both! :)This is a MONUMENTAL DOCUMENTARY that highlights one of the greatest movie franchises of all time! Whether you're familiar with and like "The Planet of the Apes" in any way, shape, or, form; or, you're a newcomer who's interested in seeing what it's all about...this documentary is exactly for you! :)

Red-Barracuda This informative documentary looks at the Planet of the Apes franchise in some detail. It covers all five movies, the short-lived TV series and even the kids cartoon. It's a pretty lengthy documentary clocking in at over two hours, although this allows it to cover a lot of ground. The first half looks at the first film, including the difficulties involved in convincing the studio to bring it to the screen. The second half details the subsequent sequels, etc. It is a very informative film but it will admittedly appeal mainly to fans of the series. It isn't really the most critical of docs it has to be admitted. It looks mostly favourably on everything, even though some of the later films weren't especially well received. Nevertheless, it does hone in on what made each instalment different.Looking back on it, Planet of the Apes was the true precursor to Star Wars with its sequels and focus on tie-in merchandise – toy figures, mugs, games, bins, you name it. It was interesting to see how similar this model was to the subsequent Star Wars one. Admittedly one considerable difference was the fact that the Apes films were reduced in budget every time, leading to the final film Battle for the Planet of the Apes appearing more like a minor skirmish. This progression in the development of the series was interesting though and I have to say that overall it made me want to re-watch them.It was presented by the ideal man in Roddy McDowell who appeared in almost all Apes-related stuff. It takes the form of the talking-heads format and so we get interesting input from a number of people involved in the franchise. We also get to see how the first film differed from the novel and understand why it ended up looking the way it did. There was one priceless sequence that showed early test footage, which was effectively a make-or-break moment for the first film. It ultimately convinced the studio execs that the make-up would work and led to the green light being given, however, it's interesting to see how different and primitive the make-up here is in comparison to what would be in the finished movie. There is also a fair amount of fascinating behind the scenes footage and some bits of entertaining chat, such as the way that the orang-utans, gorillas and chimpanzees ended up hanging out together at lunch for no obvious reason but probably an interesting subconscious psychological one.

vwolak This is a Documentary hosted by Roddy McDowall (Cornelius/Caesar/Galen) giving a history and behind the scenes glimpse of the making of the Planet of the Apes franchise, complete from the first 1968 film up to the cartoon series. There are some interesting little tidbits that may not be common knowledge to some POTA fans. I could list them, but that would spoil some of the surprises this documentary has to offer. It does not include anything about the new POTA movie with Mark Wahlberg, but that may have been made after this documentary. We learn about the adversities the original POTA makers encountered in the beginning. As well as the details of the original production such as budgets, original plot details that were later scrapped, and original casting.I would not recommend watching this until you have seen all 5 POTA movies, as they give out the endings of each one. Enjoy!

MentosMan This is a pretty good making-of documentary, insofar as it includes a lot of clips and a pretty good feeling for how and why everything was done. The thing about it that made me laugh, however, was how much they overstated the value of the series. While I will admit that the many sequels may have set an unfortunate precedent, I feel the films themselves weren't quite as important as the writers of this documentary would have us believe.